Chapter 8 — Size Matters (In Terrorising)

Richard and Trevor strolled down the streets of Helix City at the crack of dawn. The sun peeked over the horizon, radiating the sky with amber tinges. Cool breezes chilled the pair in the lukewarm atmosphere. They were seemingly alone at this ungodly hour. “Richard, as much as I trust you as a loyal friend,” Trevor said, his eyelids fighting a war against the force of gravity, “why did you have to wake me up so early?” “Since you quit your internship last week,” Richard began. “I’m never working under that shining scalp,” Trevor quipped, his words broken up by untimely yawns. “Anyway,” Richard continued, “I know you’ll be bored with Grace and me at work and Eliza job hunting, so I made an executive decision.” “Can you stop stalling and just tell me why you’re taking me to the Foundry?” Trevor asked. “I enrolled you in Helix High,” Richard said. “You’re kidding,” Trevor stated dryly. “I’m not,” Richard replied. “Why?” Trevor asked. “It was actually Kangae’s idea,” Richard stated. “You told her who we are?” Trevor asked, now awake and alert due to the revelation. “No, of course not,” Richard said reassuringly. “I told her about your situation and gave the suggestion with an oddly suspicious grin.” “Baseball, huh?” Trevor said with a chuckle. “What?” Richard asked, confused. “Never mind,” Trevor said. “Anyway,” Richard said, “I know how you feel about idiots, so I made sure to get you in a gifted class.” “How good is this fabricated identity?” Trevor asked. “Grace is the best hacker in the city,” Richard stated.

Richard and Trevor neared Helix High School. The building was constructed of maroon bricks, the pattern often interrupted by a regular arrangement of windows large enough to fit two people through. The front centre of the building had stairs leading to a set of double doors, with children rushing through them. Enclosed by large patches of grass and a mint green gate, Helix High School stood tall with the flag of the United States of America flying in the wind. “Sometimes I feel like America is the only country that cares about nationalism,” Trevor commented, looking up at the waving flag. “Where I’m from, people could go on and on about how much they hate where they live, while you guys literally make children pledge their allegiance to your flag.” “You know, I’ve never thought about that,” Richard replied. “I guess it is a little weir—” “Real Nazi stuff,” Trevor said. “Okay, you can shut up now,” Richard said. “I have to go meet up with Kangae to figure out this ‘Sovereign’ situation. You have a great first day.” “I still hate you for this,” Trevor said. Richard waved goodbye as he walked off. Trevor sighed deeply before turning around and walking through the school doors.

Plain, bland, undecorated: Helix High School’s network of seemingly endless hallways was enclosed with walls painted a solid white. The floors were beige and riddled with litter despite it being only eight o’clock in the morning. Halls were scattered with people standing at their olive green lockers, organising their belongings to start the day. Trevor stood frozen in the middle of the chaos, utterly confused. “Yeah, you’re definitely new,” an oddly soothing voice said from behind him. When he turned around, Trevor gazed upon a girl not much shorter than him. She stood confidently in front of him with her dark hair extending to about the centre of her torso as her ruby and amethyst lenses met his dark chocolate ones. “Really?” Trevor asked mordantly. “How could you tell?” The girl chuckled at his remark and said, “I like your attitude already. You’re way more interesting than some of the other people here.” She handed Trevor a backpack. “I’m Priya.” “Trevor,” he said, grabbing the bag. He opened it to find an assortment of notebooks, binders and packets of stationery. “What is this?” “That’s my ‘starter pack’,” Priya said. “I give one to any new kid I want to be friends with. Today, that’s you.” “This is cool,” Trevor said. He dug further into the bag and noticed a notebook with a label on it. “What’s this ‘beginner’s guide’?” “It’s a book containing all the information a new student may need,” Priya answered, “an up-to-date, annotated map of the school; a list of all the teachers, ranked by how strict they are; and a list of all the students you should stay away from. There’s more, but those are the main ones, and they’re all handmade by yours truly.” “This really is incredible,” Trevor said, “but you had no idea you were going to run into anyone new, let alone me, so why did you just have this on ha—?” Priya quickly placed her index finger on Trevor’s lips, halting his speech with a hush, and said, “Don’t ask questions, my dear. Just show me that handsome smile and tell me that I’m the best first friend you’ve ever had.” “Well, the bar is pretty low, so you just might be,” Trevor commented. “I don’t remember the first one; the second one is an idiot, the third one is an idiot, and the fourth one is—” Trevor paused, his expression briefly changing to something gloomier before returning to normal and saying, “Forget I said anything about the fourth one. The point is you’re a great friend.” “That’s nice to hear,” Priya stated while amicably smiling. “Come on, Trevor. We’ve got places to be.”

“Imani Solis, Maelstrom,” Weaver said assertively, “Marcus Hale, Ashen.” He and Cerebra stood in the prison wing of Shadowbolt’s pocket dimension, where Maelstrom and Ashen resided behind bars. “Let me out of here!” Solis yelled in irritation. “This cell stinks worse than 1858.” “Yeah, we’ve already complained about that,” Cerebra stated. “Shadowbolt said the cell used to belong to a metahuman from Earth-947 called… the ‘Flatulencer’,” Weaver said. “This place isn’t that bad,” Hale commented. “The unlimited supply of food certainly makes it worth it.” “Tell that to ‘Sunshine’ over there,” Solis said. “I hear him groan every day at the repetitive selection of poorly seasoned curry and undercooked rice.” “Really?” Weaver asked. “Shadowbolt said it was based on the food from his old school. School meals have been top quality for decades.” “Focus, Weaver,” Cerebra commanded. “Oh, right,” Weaver said, remembering what they were there to do. His demeanour shifted to a more serious look as he continued. “You all, besides whoever this ‘Sunshine’ is, have recently been involved in crime completely detached from your regular MO.” “The Elementals attacking Helix Park,” Cerebra said, “Solis using lightning to electrify the city’s water supply, and Hale attempting to sabotage the public transport network.” “You don’t need to tell us what happened,” Solis commented. “We were all there.” “We know you’re working for someone,” Weaver asserted. “Now, if you want even a chance of freedom, I suggest you start talking.” “We’ve got nothing to tell you,” Hale said. “Helix City is filled with fascinating wildlife,” Solis said, “but the people have been wasting the water that could be used to ensure the animals’ survival. The city needed to be taught a lesson. I don’t need some kind of higher power to tell me that.” “‘Higher power’?” Cerebra questioned. “Like a god?” “No one mentioned anything about a god,” Weaver stated. “So, you are hiding something.” “What about you five over there?” Cerebra called, grabbing the imprisoned Elementals’ attention. “What do you guys know about ‘the Sovereign’?” The mention of that name made all the prisoners visibly alert, eliciting a gasp from even Sunshine. “We obviously struck a nerve there,” Weaver commented. “What do you know?” “Do you think we’re stupid?” Carter yelled aggressively. “It’s gonna take a real nut job to give you information. We’ve got nothing to tell you.” “You could at least tell us where you get these dark matter enhancement chips from,” Weaver said playfully. “I’ll call in a favour to get you a TV.” “Go to hell!” Carter spat out, banging her fist against the energy barrier of the cell.

Conversations continued to blare. The chaos of the halls intensified as students made their individual ways to their classes. Footsteps grew louder as swarms moved around the building. Priya maintained a death grip on Trevor’s wrist as she helped him manoeuvre around the wave of seemingly aimless drones. “This feels a bit excessive,” Trevor said as he was dragged along the corridor. “These halls get very hectic between classes,” Priya stated as she weaved her way around the congestion. “If you want to be on time, this is very necessary.” “I could handle myself,” Trevor said. “You actually believe that?” Priya chuckled. “That’s cute.” Eventually, they reached the classroom. “Okay, I understand the ‘first people you meet becoming your best friend’ trope,” Trevor commented, “but the ‘sharing every class with said best friend’ trope is a bit much.” “Because that’s the weirdest thing to happen in this city,” Priya remarked sarcastically, causing Trevor to laugh a bit. “Just roll with it.” Priya held the classroom door open and stepped to the side, giving Trevor room to walk past. “Ladies first.” “Oh, you think you’re funny?” Trevor joked. “Well, technically, you’ve already walked through the door,” Priya smirked, briefly looking Trevor up and down before walking to her seat.

A woman stood authoritatively at the front of the room. Assuming she was the teacher, Trevor walked up to her, preparing to introduce himself, “Hi, I—” “Hey there, you must be Trevor!” the woman rapidly rhapsodised, cutting off Trevor’s initial introduction. “Yeah…” Trevor awkwardly replied, slightly uncomfortable due to the excessive enthusiasm. “Well, I’m Miss Park, but you can call me Zoe!” she continued. “I think I’ll stick with Miss Park,” Trevor commented, disturbed by the pacing of her words. “I’m your principal!” Miss Park stated. “Please sit down so I can speak with the entire class!” Trevor turned and gazed around the room. He expected discontentment from eyes locked on him. He was instead met with the detachment of students scrolling on their phones and chatting among themselves, entirely ignoring Trevor’s presence. The only acknowledgement of his ubiety was the false coughing and chair rattling coming from the front row, Priya not-so-subtly drawing attention to the empty seat next to her. “I see you’ve met Miss Park,” Priya said as Trevor sat down next to her. “Yeah,” Trevor replied. “Why is she so—” “Loud, excited, enthusiastic, annoying, and obnoxious?” “Exactly.” “She just loves her job a little too much, which doesn’t make sense since she’s never in school for most of the day.” “Listen up, class!” said Miss Park in her usual elevated volume. Most students glanced at her before quickly continuing their own activities. The few that did pay attention gazed with boundless lethargy. “Last week, your teacher, Doctor Frost, mysteriously vanished. While the investigation into what happened to her is going on, you will have a new teacher for the foreseeable future.” The door awkwardly creaked. Through the small window, Trevor caught a neon green tie dangling behind a deep black blazer. “You may know who this is.” However, his eyes dilated in consternation as he saw the face Miss Park introduced. “Class, this is your new teacher, Miss Vance.”

“That felt like a rapid escalation of events,” Weaver commented in humorous agony as Cerebra crashed into the ground next to him. “You know, a lot of crazy things happen in this city,” Cerebra said in equal pain, “but giant living dinosaur skeletons are just weird.” The two were startled by the sudden roar in the distance. Velociraptors dashed down the streets, pursuing civilians in their path. Allosauruses and Tyrannosaurus rex crushed the infrastructure beneath their feet. Police officers aimed rifles at the skies, aiming at the soaring pterodactyls. “Where did these dinosaurs come from?” one officer questioned in panic. “And why are they so huge?” “Well, actually,” Weaver interrupted, “pterodactyls aren’t dinosaurs. The Pterodactylus is a genus of small pterosaurs, which are distinct from dinosaurs due to their wings formed by skin and muscle membrane.” “Nerd,” the officer said before a pterodactyl swooped down and used its beak to snatch the officer. “I wish I wasn’t a superhero so I could say that he deserved that,” Weaver commented before taking off. He constructed a giant hand to grasp the creature by its legs, causing it to lose its grip on the officer. Weaver threw the pterodactyl at an allosaurus before racing down to catch the falling officer. Weaver placed the police officer safely on the ground, and the officer ran in horror.

“Hey there, you two,” Vance said amicably. “What’s your name?” “Priya,” Priya said, smiling. “You really couldn’t have made that sound any more creepy,” Trevor commented, half-joking, half-assertive. “Pardon him, Miss,” Priya said, playfully smacking Trevor’s arm. “This is Trevor.” “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Priya… and Trevor,” Vance replied. “I couldn’t help but notice that you two are the only ones here paying attention.” “Yeah, well, as it turns out,” Priya stated, “even in gifted schools, people still don’t care about education.” Vance chuckled. “Like a constant in the universe.” “Exactly,” Priya said. “What do I even do if no one is paying attention?” Vance asked. “Most teachers would’ve given up by now,” Priya said. “They just set the work and leave. It’s better than wasting energy on people who don’t even care.” “In that case,” Vance said as she began writing on the whiteboard, “complete pages thirty to forty in the workbook. I’ll be back about five minutes before the bell.” Like that, Vance was gone. “That happened,” Trevor said. “Yeah, that was weir—” Priya paused as she saw Trevor stand up and gather his belongings. “Where are you going?” “I have to go,” Trevor stated. “I’ll see you later.”

Cerebra restrained a T. rex’s leg with her telekinesis as Weaver’s energy hand clutched its jaw. They both heaved with all their might, shattering all the joints holding the creature together as the bones collapsed to the ground. The two fell to the ground as well as they panted aggressively. Weaver attempted to speak over his heavy breathing: “That took a lot out of me.” An allosaur hostilely roared through the air as it charged towards them. “They don’t have any larynxes or any organs other than bones,” a voice said through their comms system. “How are they roaring?” The voice was distorted and unfamiliar to Weaver, though Cerebra seemed to recognise it. “Who was that?” Weaver inquired. “That was Overwatch,” Cerebra said. “She’s like my assistant.” “I’ve met an Overwatch before,” Weaver commented, “but how did she get onto our comms?” “I, uh,” Overwatch stuttered, “was let in.” “You hacked in, didn’t you?” Weaver asked. “Yeah, I did,” Overwatch admitted. “That’s great,” Cerebra commented, “but does anyone actually have a plan on how to stop these guys?” “I—” “I’ve got an idea,” F.R.I.E.N.D. said. “Really, F.R.I.E.N.D.?” Weaver inquired. “What is it?” “Well, based on the monsters’ movement patterns,” F.R.I.E.N.D. stated, “I was able to triangulate their origin.” “So, where did they come from?” Cerebra enquired. F.R.I.E.N.D. responded, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

Crash! Trevor lurched around the corner as he followed his suspect. Vance approached the door of an empty biology classroom. Trevor rapidly concealed himself around the corner as Vance scanned her surroundings, ensuring that she was alone before entering the room. Before it was too late, Trevor threw a small, cylindrical device that subtly clung to Vance’s ankle. He slipped an eyepiece into his ear and began to listen. Two pairs of footsteps clumped around the room as equipment clanked. “What are we doing here?” an unfamiliar voice asked. “The boss wanted us in this exact room when we called him,” Vance said just before a metallic thud struck the surface in front of them. “Do we have to be in this room with the creepy statues?” “The medieval armour display is for the entertainment of children. You’ll be fine.” A few beeps echoed through the room before, eventually, an unfamiliar voice could be heard. This one was deep, distorted, and ominous, striking instinctive fear in the pair: “Molo, Clara, Omar.” “Molo, mlawuli,” Vance said. “Ubufuna ukuxoxa ngantoni?” “Onke amaqhawe amathandathu asebenzayo ayayiqonda indawo yakho.” “Ingaba oko kubi?” Khalil asked. “Ingaba oko kubi? UMatondo yedwa onokuthi aniguqule nobabini nibe ziinqwelomoya zephepha.” “Ngoko ke, simele senze ntoni ngale nto?” asked Vance. “I-Project Velocity ingamnyamekela uMatondo, nto leyo enishiya nobabini noCox, uNakamura, kunye no-Okafo. Ndikunqwenelela ithamsanqa.” “Enkosi, Nk—” “What are you doing here?” Trevor was startled. Trevor pounced into action and held the person behind him in a headlock. “Dude, relax! It’s me!” Trevor let go of Priya and stepped back as she caught her breath. “Sorry about that,” Trevor apologised. “Instinct.” “Killer instinct, apparently,” Priya laughed, still panting. “What are you doing outside our history classroom anyway?” “Something you don’t want to get involved in,” Trevor stated. Suddenly, Priya’s eyes briefly dilated. Her muscles tightened in her limbs and core as she squinted with focus. “You’re right,” she said as she began to slowly walk off. “I’ll see you later.” She was gone.

Trevor reached into his pocket and grabbed his suit emblem, placing it on his chest and watching as his suit expanded across his body. Shadowbolt charged into the door at super speed, shattering it into pieces. “Now that’s a master splinter,” he quipped before turning to Vance and Khalil, who were both standing hostilely on the other side of the room. “Hey, guys.” Shadowbolt stepped forward, charging his arm with energy, and hurled lightning at Vance, sending her crashing through the wall. “Neat trick,” Khalil mocked, “but that’s not gonna help you.” Placed on the table were three small toy soldier figures, painted in solid green. Khalil raised his fist, aiming at the figures before firing a beam, enveloping them in a yellow glow. The toys grew in scale until reaching a life-sized, animated state, all grasping rifles in unison. They fired. Lightning crackled across Shadowbolt’s body. The world slowed down as his perception accelerated. He walked over, grasping the flying bullets in his path, and, at least from his perspective, lightly tapped the bottom of their gun barrels. As his perception returned to a regular pace, the rough firearms crashed into the fragile skulls of the soldiers. They fell. “Cute,” Shadowbolt joked, “but if you think you can kill me with a live-action Toy Story remake, you’ve got another thing coming.” Shadowbolt dashed at Khalil at a high velocity. Khalil shut his eyes, bracing for impact. He stood in anticipating fright as he readied himself. Seconds went by. Nothing. Khalil opened his eyes. Shadowbolt was gone.

Khalil clashed with the wall as Arachne swung through the window and kicked him in the face. A barrage of spider silk clung to him, forcing him to adhere to the brick surface. Khalil wiggled and struggled, attempting to free himself from the trap. “These webs stopped a train while I fought a maniac with robotic appendages,” Arachne quipped. “You ain’t forcing your way out of those.” Suddenly, Vance propelled herself back into the room and lunged at Arachne. Arachne evaded, and roundhouse kicked Vance into a cupboard in the corner of the room. Vance shook off the bruises and stood back up. Weaver flew through the windows. He snapped, transporting Cerebra into the room with them as they stood in a ready stance. “Clara Vance…” Weaver spat out. “Who’s your friend?” “How about you find out?” Vance grinned. Khalil’s body grew a jaundiced radiance. That energy fled from his body in a violent pulse. Everyone in the room was repelled back with great force. The fallen green soldiers rose again as the armour in the corners exploded with life. “Guys,” Arachne said, “I don’t feel so good.” Arachne suddenly began decreasing in magnitude. Pretty soon, she was the size of a fire ant. “I’d prefer not to be the size of an actual spider.”

They fired. Lightning crackled across Shadowbolt’s body. The world slowed down as his perception accelerated. He walked over, grasping the flying bullets in his path, and, at least from his perspective, lightly tapped the bottom of their gun barrels. As his perception returned to a regular pace, the rough firearms crashed into the fragile skulls of the soldiers. They fell. “Cute,” Shadowbolt joked, “but if you think you can kill me with a live-action Toy Story remake, you’ve got another thing coming.” Shadowbolt dashed at Khalil at a high velocity. He watched as Khalil shut his eyes in anticipating apprehension. He neared Khalil and prepared a powerful strike. Abruptly, a cobalt streak raced by him. Within that, he was on the other side of Helix City. The wall behind him cracked as he was slammed into it. He was unable to move as his armour continuously sustained damage from punches infused with corrupted Speed Force lightning. “Trajectory,” Shadowbolt said as he attempted to block and weave his attacker’s punches. “So that’s what you call me,” the woman said, continuing her aggression. “Well, not you specifically,” Shadowbolt stated, “but there’s this scientist on Earth-1, Eliza Harmon, and she has the same deal as you: same costume, same lightning colour, same psychotic look. So, which innocent soul’s body did you hijack?” “You talk too much,” Trajectory grumbled before slashing Shadowbolt with a stream of electricity.

The armour stands clanked around the room, hunting down the miniature Arachne scaling the legs of the classroom tables. Vance’s heavy metal suit backhanded Weaver in the face before blasting him away with an energy beam. Cerebra halted the bullets flying through the air as the soldiers fired. Arachne attached a web to the ceiling, swinging across the room and landing on the gun of one of the soldiers. She connected her web to the gun and leapt in Cerebra’s direction, yanking the gun out of the soldier’s hands. Cerebra caught the firearm flying into her clutches and used it as a blunt-force weapon as she hit the soldiers in the face, knocking them down and leaving them unconscious. She threw the gun at Vance, who caught it and drove it into her knee, snapping it in half. Vance poured the gunpowder out of the gun. She hurled the dust at Weaver and blasted it, causing a combustion reaction that pushed Weaver back. An armour stand grabbed Arachne and threw her across the room. She used her webs to catch herself and propel herself forward, striking the armour in the chest.

“Pathetic,” Trajectory taunted menacingly before crashing Shadowbolt’s skull into the concrete ground. She charged her foot with lightning and struck down his lower vertebrae. Then, she held him up by the neck and punched him in the chest with full force, sending him flying straight through two buildings. His armour was ravaged. Dents and tears invaded the surfaces, and the helmet’s lenses were shattered. Shadowbolt tried to stand up, barely leaving the ground before he was raced to the top of Storm’s offices, the tallest building in Helix City. Trajectory held Shadowbolt over the edge and shredded his suit, exposing his civilian identity to the chill of the rooftop. Trevor watched as gravity dragged his demolished armour down to the ground. “Poor Trevor,” Trajectory continued to mock. “Richard would be so disappointed.” She let go. Trevor began falling. He accelerated at a fast rate. He soon passed through the sea of debris from his destroyed suit. Trevor leaned forward, attempting to reach for the gauntlet falling next to him. He caught it. Trevor activated it and frantically navigated through the holographic menu. He was merely seconds away from colliding with the ground.

Arachne swung across the room and kicked Vance in the leg, knocking her off-balance before swinging in Cerebra’s direction. Weaver used this opportunity to blast Vance with crimson energy, sending her flying into a wall. He fired another blast at Khalil, but an armour stand jumped in the way, blocking it. The statues rushed Weaver all at once. Two went for his legs, attempting to destabilise him as the other two hit him from the front and back. However, Weaver expertly weaved and evaded the attack. Khalil began firing at Cerebra as she dodged and eluded. Pulses of energy flew through the air as random objects gained animation and changed scales. Cerebra continued flipping until Khalil managed to hit her clenched fist. “Prepare to be the size of an atom,” Khalil quipped. However, Cerebra just smirked as something began to glow through her closed fingers. “I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Cerebra remarked as she opened her fist. Arachne dropped to the ground as she rapidly grew, returning to normal size. She roundhouse kicked Khalil, knocking him out. The moment the power-dampening cuffs landed over his wrists, all objects in the room returned to their regular stature. The armour stands collapsed, and the soldiers were once again toys. “I’m never watching Toy Story again,” Arachne joked. Weaver vigilantly turned to the other side of the room, ready to fight, but Vance was gone.

Weaver, Cerebra and Arachne teleported into Shadowbolt’s pocket dimension with Khalil in handcuffs. An O.L.A.C. drone greeted them on entry and escorted them to the next available cell. They walked past the cells of all the inmates: from Carter to Frost, from Hale to Solis. They all looked a mixture of enraged and fatigued. Khalil was different. He smiled. He hopefully chanted “Inkululeko isondele!” and it instantly lifted everyone’s spirits. Their dull eyes were sparked with sinister optimism. The heroes were disturbed. They shoved him into a vacant cell. As Weaver and Cerebra were setting up the cell, Arachne sensed something was wrong and decided to investigate. Arachne navigated through the labyrinth of laboratories and advanced facilities before arriving in the main console room. She quickly gazed around the room, trying to identify what she detected. She was horrified by the sight.

Trevor was sitting in the corner, leaning against the metallic walls, panting heavily. He was bruised and slashed all over his body. He held his hand over the gash on his lower abdomen as blood attempted to rush out. He was in critical condition. “Oh, hey, Priya,” Trevor attempted to say over the excruciating pain. Arachne was caught off guard. “How did you know it was me?” she asked while taking her mask off, trying to make light of this devastating situation. “Come on, Silk,” Trevor said with escalating agony, “I’m not stupid. Now, can you help me up?” Priya slung her arm over Trevor’s shoulders as he did the same, supporting his shattered spine, and they walked over to the medical bay. “How did this happen?” Priya asked, concerned. “I picked a fight with a speedster,” Trevor said. “She destroyed my suit and nearly destroyed me.” “Speedster? Suit?” Priya questioned. “Wait, are you a hero too?” “Great job, Sherlock,” Trevor joked. “How else would I have got in here? I just give access keys to anyone, you know? Which reminds me, I need to give you one at some point.” “Are you sure you’re fine?” Priya asked, in consideration. “I’ve got speed healing,” Trevor stated. “I’m fine.” “You sure?” Priya pushed. “Yup. I am perfectly fi—” Trevor was cut off by the splash of blood that was expelled as he coughed. “Oh,” Priya exclaimed in gentle repulsion. “Who opened the blood gates?” Trevor remarked. “If you were a meta, you’d be dead,” Priya commented. “How are you joking right now?” “I’m just weird like that,” Trevor said. “Tu esi mīlīgs,” she giggled. “Out of all the languages? Really?” Trevor jokingly questioned. “Also… WHAT?!”